15 Seconds EP Review @Internal_Rhyme and Digital Crates

If you’ve been following this site long enough, you know I’m not the usual music review guy, but every once in a while, I borrow Ronnie’s oversized cap and wax poetic about music. The project I’m reviewing comes to us from a Philadelphia rapper named Internal Rhyme. The title comes from Israeli rocket alerts where you have 15 seconds to find cover. So Internal Rhyme seeks to answer what he would do with only 15 seconds left to live.

At 5 tracks, 15 Seconds is truly an EP, which is something I appreciate given how much that term is thrown around inaccurately. It opens with Home which gives off a Slim Shady vibe and it sets the tone for the project. Internal Rhyme wastes no time letting you know he can rap. Having only listened to the project you’d never guess he is only 23. The vibe and sound of this EP takes me back to my 2005 backpacker days and that’s a breath of fresh air. Rather than chasing the current sound, Internal Rhyme and Digital Crates create a fresh spin on something I grew up on and used to attempt to make in my mom’s basement over a decade ago.

At such a short length, it’s often difficult to tell a story, particularly one as complex and deep as the title may suggest. The concluding track “15 Seconds” attempts to accomplish this. IR raps about trying to outrun fate alongside a couple of his cohorts who, while I’m not always a fan of features on shorter projects, manage to keep up with him on the track and not detract from the progress up to that point. Overall, it’s a good project to listen to, particularly if you are a fan of backpack rap that doesn’t sound overly dated. It’s a good start for the career of this Philly MC and yet another Young Gun to go alongside one of our favorite up and comers, Shawn Smith. Link to the project below.